In seeing the impression of the above, which is very appreciated since I was looking into buying more, I read two more stories from the Renegade Swords collection the other day and will drop my thoughts.

The two stories were The Rune Sword of Jotunheim by Glenn Rahman and Richard L. Tierney along with Princess of Chaos by Bryce Walton.

Without further ado, we'll start with The Rune Sword of Jotunheim. DM Ritzlin may or may not think of Pyhrras as the heavy weight for the volume but the one I liked the most was this one. It did not feel like it dragged, the writing was quick, and the imagery was fun. I love Icelandic Sagas and this does not read like one but it felt like the authors did enjoy that genre. The editor admitted it was a shame that there were not more of these written because both of the main characters (being a jarl named Hadding and a frost giantess named Alfhild) fit their roles nicely. Hadding comes across as a Norseman, as he should, as opposed to Conan in Scandinavia (which there is one of those, actually, in an Epic Collection of the Marvel Conan). It's interesting to see the theme of a Norseman hero getting with a giantess in a modern story since I know it happens on a few occasions in Norse mythology. The action sequences are quick and not wholly predictable but do actually leave you in some suspense. The chances of the hero losing were always pretty slim but there is definitely tension in there. Like I said, this is the best story in the collection. Lastly, I read all of Odin's lines in a surfer/beach bum voice and this resulted in a mildly hilarious reading.

Princess of Chaos is a really odd one in the sense that it is simultaneously the second best or second worst story in the collection. How it does this is hard to say. DM Ritzlin tells us in the intro that this is an example of a typical-ish story from the 40s and 50s where Conan with the serial number removed is in a space-ish setting and does Conan-ish things. This one takes place on Venus with a half-breed Terran and Martian hybrid named Moljar and if that description seems cumbersome then get used to it because it gets driven home like a kid on a school bus. That is part of the less good, this fact gets brought up pretty much in every chapter and then some, and there are only like five. The concepts brought up are fine but are either kind of odd or not developed much (they do not need to be to be honest) like the cat people and the multi-planes of existence thing (which one is it supposed to be? I saw plain and plane used for this idea). The action is fun and the descriptions are good but concise, Moljar is not an enjoyable or fun character being mostly brooding and a bit duh-duh, but the other characters when they are present are actually pretty good. I liked this one but rank it in the middle of the stories I read from the collection.
I can only respect that.

I actually have a sample of Mistborn and the Way of Kings in a two in one mass market paperback that was given away at a bookstore. I never quite got into Stormlight Archive (mostly because it is really, really long page wise) but you are the second superlative opinion I have heard so I suspect there is definitely something there.

I have a hard time with literary fiction and if I read fiction it is probably genre fiction of some kind, usually a kind of fantasy or sci-fi (or, once again, it's really old). It's not that they cannot be good (like I said, I enjoyed the Cossacks a lot) but usually if I have one I try and read it and give up after a few chapters. Moby Dick is a pretty good example of that.

It took some time, but i finally managed to finish reading through the "The revelation space collection" by Alastair Reynolds.
Crazy, Deep and actually manages to come, for me at last, to an ending where all loose ends are tied together. All in all 30 bucks well spend!
this is an opinion!

Also, finished reading ebook nr. 2 for the Manticore Ascendant, i believe a pre-lude to the manticorian navy as represented in the Honor books. Featuring a savant as one of the leading anchors.... In book 3 we probably will discover how Manticore found xxxxxxxxxx leading to its wealth.

And another e-book, also a nr 2. Siobhan Dunmar by Eric thomson

Baptism of Fire, by Andrzej Sapkowski. The...third of the Witcher novel series and fifth volume overall. Geralt sets off to search for Ciri, thinking she's betrothed to the Nilfgaardian emperor, not realizing that the emperor has a double and the real Ciri is in a completely different place, is suffering from amnesia, and has become a bloodthirsty gang-banger.

At this point I think I'm just reading these because I like the video games, but at the risk of blaspheming I think the games are better overall than the books, or at least the novels. The short stories were pretty enjoyable. Sapkowski simply isn't much of a plotter. The story takes a long time to get anywhere and virtually nothing is resolved by the end. There are lengthy expository sections in which characters literally recount current events to each other, even occasionally including the dreaded "as you already know...". The only bit of intrigue in these sections is that usually one of the characters is either mistaken about the truth or lying to the other but that's not enough to justify them. Sapkowski also has a weird way with characters and dialogue in that they all seem to hate each other, then they'll break down and get sentimental and blubbery for a minute, and then they go back to "Aw, go $#!% yourself!" It reminded me that even Sapkowski's biggest fans seem to regard him as a bitter old git and it seems to show in his storytelling. Or maybe there's something in the culture or translation that isn't coming across right. I have heard that Sapkowski's voice is much stronger in Polish and that the English editions are inconsistent in capturing his wordplay.

That all said, I think this volume was better than the last one (A Time of Contempt), and at least the page counts aren't excessive. Many similar writers would have written the same book but stretched it out over like 900 pages instead of 343.

Huh, BoF struck me as the best in the series. And ToC maybe 2nd best. There were moments while reading those when I hesitated to continue because I was sure he had to ruin things somehow, yet that didn't happen, from my point of view at least.
He did mess up in TotS though, I'd call that the low point, rather by far.

The Dragon Masters (1962) by Jack Vance: 4.5/5


Set on the rocky and craggy planet Aerlith, where the last (?) remnants of the once great Human empire are busy with in-fighting instead of uniting against the periodically marauding "Basics" from another solar system. The Basics is a draconian race, of which some where captured by the humans and for several generations bred into different breeds of warriors who make up the bulk of the human armies, fighting with weapons like swords and maces.

The two human opposing leaders are the rather awkwardly named Joaz Banbeck and Ervis Carcolo. I don't know if Joan Baez and Elvis Costello ever duked it out in real life, though.

Vance is creative as usual, and it seems so effortless, and unlike lesser writers he didn't milk a good setting for millions of pages over several decades. Although it is a bit sad that he never wrote any sequels. And apparently it was never adapted into a movie or for any board or computer games. The former is understandable, but it would be an excellent setting for a game with dragon armies fighting each other.

An enjoyable read, part (the attack on the invading alien space ship and the tech difference) of which reminded me of Poul Anderson's The High Crusade. Vance is fond of using obsolete words, though, making me frequently consult the wiktionary.

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

Quite an extensive history of the atom and the Manhattan Project. An international group of scientists researched and experimented and refined the atomic theory. Professors taught students. The students would help contribute to science. Some of them would win Nobel Prizes. Many famous names are in the book, I just can't remember them all.
The atomic and radioactivity experimental results were shared in scientific publications all over the world until World War 2. Most of the atomic scientists in Europe didn't want to stay due to Nazi Germany laws/aggression. They moved to UK and America and taught in colleges/universities. When the Manhattan project started, American and British scientists collaborated together. The project to make atomic bombs is very technically and industrially demanding and expensive to boot. Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were the tipping point to induce the Japanese Emperor Hirohito to make peace.
It was hard to read the many first hand eyewitness accounts of the Hiroshima bomb. Some thought the world had ended, Hell on earth.


Other topic, I'm glad to see some people like Jack Vance. I hope to read a new Jack Vance book next.

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

It's an enjoyable and quick read, but you do need to know what to expect. Randall likes taking things to extremes, the answers often leading to scenarios that range from deadly to depicting widespread devastation or even the destruction of the Earth, while at the same time making a point of not taking many things seriously. That works in a webcomic and in answers posted on that comic's site, but may bother in a book, unless you know exactly what you're going to get.
Some of those "weird (and worrying) questions" didn't strike me as being worse than those that were answered. As for some some of the answers that stood out to me, the one about the common cold definitely seems different now than when it was written, while the one about Facebook was unusually considered. And ending on a, shall I say, low note, going to the other extreme, describing the low end of the scale when the question had actually been about a planet-destroying scenario, was somewhat comforting.

Rating: 4/5

Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find and Keep Love

This book quickly won me over by slamming just that typical approach that generates my highly negative attitude towards anything coming from mental health professionals, therapists or counselors in related fields, relationships obviously being one. The entire “Dependency Is Not a Bad Word” section struck me as excellent, explaining the “dependency paradox” and flatly stating that dependency on your partner is a fact and this push towards independence, telling people that they’re responsible for their own happiness and seeing codependency so negatively, is wrong and harmful. In addition, while somewhat less directly, seeking passion and “highs” in relationships is also argued against, as are various other detrimental relationship or dating strategies that are so often recommended, these being replaced with mostly great advice and strategies for steady, secure relationships where each takes responsibility for the other. And, crucially, it’s also stated that fundamental personality traits simply are and in most cases can’t be changed.
Still, while far more restrained and justified than what usually happens, the various arguments and methods for people to change certain behaviors that are presented did seem to somewhat contradict that stance and occasionally bothered me. But I disliked the “abundance philosophy” even more, the mostly great advice for maintaining and even fixing relationships seeming diminished by the focus on dating, searching for a suitable partner by trying many, being willing to give up on relationships and move on. Also, if attachment styles would be such a determining factor of relationship success and the majority would truly be secure, far more people would quite easily have long, steady, fulfilling relationships. In fact, while they do work for most, three categories are too few to fit everyone, and only allowing for one combination doesn’t help much. That combination may be the one that this highly damaging typical approach that is, refreshingly, so firmly rejected in this book is likely to generate, but the other two strike me as far more likely, many people being partially secure. And I’d be one, as even according to the tests in the book I’m an almost even secure-anxious mix.

Rating: 4/5

'Memoirs of A Blue Puttee' - A.J. Stacey

Referring to the blue-dyed puttees (leg coverings that prevent mud from entering the gap between the boot and pants leg),
this book details the life and death of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War 1.

Newfoundland and Labrador at the start of 1914 was a semi-independent country owing ultimate fealty to Great Britain. An island nation of approximately 250,000 , it was quite the surprise to many outsiders when they managed to raise a regiment of 800 men (801 to be precise) to fight in the Great War. They were shipped to England, received proper training and firearm practice (many of them had never even heard a gun go off before, let alone in anger) before being shipped off to the front lines... in Gallipoli.

The regiment fought fairly well for green troops but were fairly unremarkable otherwise. In 1916, an end to the stalemate on the front lines was planned by Allied Command. Many know of it today as the Battle of the Somme, and the RNR was called up to fight as second-line reserves. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians know it for the section of the line that the Regiment covered: Beaumont-Hamel.

By the end of the day, 700 men would be casualties, one-third of them dead. Not a single man had managed to fire his rifle at the enemy; the initial bombardment had not cut the German barbed wire as planned. German machine gunners zeroed in on the few locations that were breached, cutting British, French, Canadian and Commonwealth soliders to pieces - all for a grand total of no ground gained.

As the title of the book suggests, the history of the Regiment is interspersed with letters and journal entries from the men who fought in that battle. It can be a little eerie when reading a young man's letters, wanting to come home to help run his family's community shop, only to come home in a pine box.

For such a small nation to lose that many men - that many young men who were supposed to help sire the next generation and upkeep the island's economy - combined with their wartime debts meant that while most of the world reveled in economic prosperity in the 1920s, Newfoundland and Labrador wallowed in a depression - made all the worse in the 1930s.

An excellent war history book, short and no-nonsense.

Planet of Adventure by Jack Vance
This volume contains previously published novels. They are:
City of the Chasch
Servants of the Wankh
The Dirdir
The Pnume
Adam Reith, a scout of an explorer spaceship from Earth, gets in a scout boat just in time before a surprise launched torpedo from newly discovered planet obliterates the spaceship. The scout boat, reeling from the blast, shipwrecks on the planet. The planet Tschai would be inhabited by 4 different alien races, each hating one other. Adam Reith would walk and sail the planet, fight outwit and trick men and aliens that would take advantage of him and his friends.
Thumbs up.

The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard : 3/5

For some reason post-apocalyptic novels appealed to mainstream writers (Earth Abides, On the Beach, Level 7, Alas Babylon) and to the more literate of the British SF writers (John Wyndham, John Christopher, Brian Aldiss and J. G. Ballard). Hollywood was as usual some decades behind, when (according to Wikipedia [the disaster film] "genre came to particular prominence during the 1970s".


Anyway, this time the disaster is caused by increased solar radiation causing global warming and melting of ice resulting in a drowned world, with new coastlines made of silt. I think Ballard may have been influenced by Aldiss' Hothouse. At least that's the earlier post-apoc novel that has the most similar setting, only the Drowned World takes place about 50 years after the book was written.

As usual with Ballard, the protagonist (Dr. Robert Kerans) is a rather introvert scientist, who from a base on Greenland is part of survey of what was once Europe, which is now lots of laguna. And as in some of his earlier short stories the protagonist has made his HQ in a hotel. It has much the same feel as his short story Deep End, only in that story the oceans have all evaporated.

There's not much of a plot. Ballard was interested in exploring "inner space". With the increased temperatures the world is returning to Triassic times, and Kerans and some other have dreams that supposedly are "racial memories" from that time. The dreams make them want to head towards the sun by going south. But Kerans' plans are interrupted when the white pirate Strangman and his negro crew appears on the scene (which by coincidence turns out to be Leicester Square in London).

A novel that is more interesting than enjoyable. Rather too much details at times, both of surroundings and characters' actions. Also no inner monologues, so there's this feeling of remoteness, and never getting to really know Kerans and why he must go south like a moth drawn to light.

I've always enjoyed a good post-apocalyptic novel or movie.

Perhaps the first exposure to such was The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, which I had to read at school for English, and then his The Day Of The Triffids, though at some point as a child I saw Omega Man starring Charlton Heston, which was a remake of the Vincent Price starred filmed, The Last Man On Earth, based on the Richard Matheson novel, I Am Legend ... and then of course we got the more recent remake starring Will Smith.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Man_on_Earth_(1964_film))
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omega_Man
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_(film))

Another movie I saw as a child, but didn't know the name of until a decade or so ago was, Panic In Year Zero!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_in_Year_Zero!

That likewise had a big impact on me, and with such an unlikely title took me ages to rediscover and get a copy of.

But talking of The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard. I'd read quite a few post-apocalyptic novels before reading that one, and while I thought it okay, it wasn't riveting and I recall wanting more than I got from it. I mostly remember it for the very large illustrated trade paperback I bought real cheap ... textbook size.

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?234677
http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/0/08/THDRWNDWRL1982.jpg

The first half of The Chrysalids was perhaps the best thing Wyndham wrote.

I loved I Am Legend the novel, but Matheson's later novels were disappointing. He still wrote some good short stories, though. The movie adaptation are a mixed bag, the first with the tiny Italian cars and Vincent Price looking like Uncle Leo in Seinfeld, Omega Man being the most "far out" and the Will Smith one being the most forgettable one.

I liked Panic in Year Zero!, but it was a bit sad to see the one time top star Ray Milland playing in a B movie.

Yes, I like this genre.

The Day Of The Triffids has remained my favorite John Wyndham story, and I've read them all now, including his earlier stuff written as John Beynon.

Omega Man I was obsessed with as a kid, always hoping for a TV replay, back in the days of no videos and certainly no DVDs or Netflix etc. It really provoked the imagination and made you wonder, what if.

At the time I did not think of Panic In Year Zero as b-grade, and at that point in the Cold War, it was very thought provoking, especially to a kid. Ray Milland did a great job, and no doubt gave the movie a better standing ... at least to some folks.

Alas old movies from that era and before are only really good, in most cases, when it comes to nostalgia. Beyond that they are often quite dated and even b-grade ... especially when SciFi or Fantasy, which didn't have a lot of respect back in the day. In fact, many were deliberately corny.

Thank you for the link to this new thread. I've not been reading a lot other than amazon kindle freebies.

Currently (STILL!) reading Ian Toll's pacific crucible; it's good but dry at times.